Bank checks prepared for a particular account typically include the number of that account printed on each individual check. This account number usually appears on a single line located near the bottom of each check, for consistent identification of checks in a mechanized, check-clearing operation. The account line usually includes a unique number string identifying the individual account on which the checks are drawn, and also includes another portion identifying the particular bank or other financial institution with which the particular account is maintained. This account-line information appears on the individual deposit tickets for the account, in addition to the checks issued to the account holder. The account-line information is printed on the checks using a special type font known as E13B and is printed using magnetic ink. Together this is known as MICR printing and is both visually readable and machine readable for mechanized reading and sorting of checks and deposit tickets by the financial institutions. Individuals who open a new checking account will receive a limited supply of "starter" checks and deposit tickets containing a pre-assigned account number for use while a full supply of checks and deposit tickets is prepared for the new account. Checks usually are printed not by the bank or other financial institution maintaining the account, but by specialist printers who prepare checks for various financial institutions.
Some banks require different account numbers printed on the checks and deposit tickets associated with each account. The account number printed on the deposit tickets, for example, may be a subset of the account number printed on the checks for that account, or the account numbers may otherwise differ in some manner. Checks for individual account holders usually are printed in relatively small quantities, e.g., 100 or 200 checks per order, and primarily are printed on an offset press. With this well-known printing technique, a plate is prepared containing the account number for the particular account, together with the name and address of the account holder to be printed elsewhere on the individual checks and deposit tickets. This plate then is mounted on a plate cylinder of an offset printing press. When the press is operated, the information on the plate is inked and that image is transferred to a blanket mounted on an intermediate or blanket cylinder, in a mariner known to those skilled in the art. The inked images applied to the blanket are in turn transferred to sheets of paper stock fed between the blanket cylinder and a third cylinder, known as the impression cylinder. (An actual check-printing plate is several times larger than an individual check and contains images to print deposit tickets and checks for a number of different accounts during a single press run. These different checks and deposit tickets are printed on paper stock of the same overall size as the printing plate, and the printed paper stock is cut after printing to separate the checks and deposit tickets for each individual account.)
The conventional mariner of printing different account-line information on the checks and deposit tickets for a particular account requires preparing two separate plates. One plate contains the account line and other information unique to the deposit tickets for a particular account, and the other plate contains the account-line information and other matter unique to the checks themselves. In most cases, the information on those two plates was identical except for the different account-line information required for the checks and deposit tickets. Once the two plates are prepared, one plate is mounted on the plate cylinder of the offset press and the press is operated while a supply of deposit ticket paper stock is fed through the press. The press operator then stops the press, removes the first plate and substitutes the second plate, and then restarts the press after loading a supply of check stock. This procedure requires the added expense of preparing two separate plates for printing a single order of checks and deposit tickets for an account Moreover, the printing process itself is slowed by the need to swap the plates during the press run for a particular order.
It has been proposed to eliminate the need for two plates by providing a single plate with the two account-number lines positioned one above the other on the plate. That printing plate is combined in the press with a blanket having a raised portion to contact only one of the two account-number lines, depending on the angular alignment of the blanket cylinder relative to the plate cylinder. This arrangement does away with the requirement for two separate plates, but still requires stopping the press to manually index the plate cylinder to align the desired account line with the raised portion on the blanket.